A thousand a day

Well, I did it! I finally hit 40,000 words!!!

I’m halfway there!

And that is a great feeling.

Do I feel like I’m over the hump and it’s all down hill from here? Not hardly. I still have to get through Act 2 (the middle of the book) and then Act 3 (the ending). There are still a lot of words to write and ideas to get down on paper. There are characters to develop and dialogue to craft and suspense to create. But it does feel like it’s getting a bit easier.

Writing is a lot like exercise. When you first start out, it’s hard. You can only run a quarter of a mile or do 10 push ups. Your muscles protest. You tire quickly. You do it, not because you love it, but because you know you have to. But if you keep at it, a little at a time, eventually you will find that it gets a bit easier. You can run longer, maybe a half a mile, and then one day, a full mile. You gradually add push ups until you’re doing fifty. And you do it because it makes you feel good. You have more energy. You see the rewards of your hard work paying off when the number on the scale goes down and your clothes fit better.

When I first started writing this book, it was hard. I floundered. I wrote only a little at a time, a few hundred words here and there. I felt very overwhelmed and a bit lost. But the more I kept at it, the easier it started to get. I feel like I know my story better now. I definitely know my characters better. And once I got in the groove, the words started flowing faster. Now I can easily write a couple thousand words in a session. I write longer and faster. Leaner and meaner. (haha)

And it makes me happy. I look forward to my writing time. Sometimes I can’t wait to get back to it and finish a scene or start a new chapter. And even when I’m not writing, I’m thinking about the story, the characters. A better way to say something or a different way to lead into the next scene.

So, here I am, at the halfway mark. I’ve set goals for myself to get me through this next half of the game. If I can write 1,000 words each time I sit down to write, then in 40 days, I’ll be finished with my first draft. Just 40 days of writing!

Now, I don’t get to write every day. But if I can do a thousand a day, I’ll reach my goal. That’s my new game plan. So far it seems to be working pretty well.

Next stop: 60,000 words!